This is for my good friend, @lovebangwon, who threatens to hack me if I don’t write a post about this drama.
I didn’t check other drama sites for the inside scoop on the final “One True Pairing” (or OTP) so my opinions might differ from the rest. (But who cares? I’m an uber-bitch, anyway.) Also, I purposely didn’t check your twitter account, @lovebangwon, so I wouldn’t be influenced by your choice.
You asked me for my assessment on who the End Guy would be, whether it was
A. the cool model, anime-looking, politician’s son, SunOh, or
B. the housekeeper’s son, bland, boy-next-door, loyal best friend, HyeYung
and my answer is…drumroll, please.
B. HyeYung.
The male lead appears to be SunOh but I think this story is gearing up for the second male lead to win the affections of the heroine Jojo at the end.
I’ll give three reasons.
First, Lao Tzu says, “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.”
The physical attraction between female lead Jojo and the handsome SunOh is undoubtedly being built up. From Episode 1 alone, I can count 6 encounters:
a. their first eye contact. She rode the bus and he watched her from his car
b. their first meeting on the stairs. Time stood still; students walked past them while they stared at each other
c. their eye contact when the Love Alarm heart-shaped cloud appeared in the sky
d. his discovery of her hiding place in the bushes. He found it curious that she could stare at his face, unlike other people. Despite her request for secrecy, he tattled on her to her boyfriend Il-sik,forcing her to argue with her boyfriend.
e. his pursuit. He followed her after school when he noticed she skipped her bus to work. Although he tried his Love Alarm app, it said that no one within a 10m radius loved him. That’s because she didn’t have the app on her phone. She then provoked him, “If you keep following me, I’ll assume you’re interested in me.” He followed her.
f. and their first kiss.
They had interesting conversation leading up to the kiss, so I’ll post it.
SonOh: Wait. I’ve something to tell you. (she turned back to look at him) Let’s talk over there. (pointing to a secluded alleyway)
Jojo: (following him without fear) Go ahead. What do you want to say?
SO: Do you want to kiss?
To me, this question is troubling on so many levels.
One, although his friend HyeYung didn’t want to admit it to his face, he knew very well that HyeYung liked JoJo.
Two, he knew too that Jojo had a boyfriend,Il-sik. He saw them quarreling but now he was shamelessly injecting himself into picture to widen their rift.
Three, despite asking if SHE wanted the kiss, it was a no-brainer that HE himself wanted the kiss and that he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Four, his intentions were dubious.
I could think of four reasons he wanted to kiss her, and three of them were perverse:
1) he wanted to thwart his best friend’s love life;
2) he wanted her to feel disconcerted and flustered. Remember: in the bushes he found it odd that she could look at him straight in the eye without being flustered like other girls, and
3) he wanted to break up her relationship with her boyfriend Il-sik.
The fourth *possible* reason he wanted to kiss her was because he found her attractive.
JJ: You must be crazy. I guess you’re joking, but it’s not funny.
SO: I’m not joking.
JJ: If you have nothing else to say, I’m off.
SO: (holding her arm) Where are you going?
JJ: (turning to face him) I’m busy. I’ve work today.
SO: Why do you have to work?
JJ: (leaning against the wall with a sigh) There’s no one else to do it, that’s why. Right, you probably have no idea what it’s like. You live in a mansion.
SO: Mansion?
JJ: Your family is well-off.
SO: (leaning against the wall, too) We are, but my family is embarrassing. I don’t want to talk about it. What about you?
JJ: I’m…I don’t have parents. So I’ve to work to support myself.
SO: You don’t have parents?
JJ: That’s right. Not everyone does.
SO: Then don’t talk about your family. No one will know unless you talk about it first.
lol. He was the one who asked about her parents. He turned to face her again.
JJ: (defensively) What?
SO: You like me don’t you? Then why do you act like you don’t?
He’s psycho. Cute but psycho, as that song goes. To me, he was attracted to her because she was a “forbidden fruit” that is, his best friend liked her and she resisted his wiles.
JJ: No, I don’t. If you turn on your Love Alarm again…
SO: (sticking his face close to hers) Yes, you do.
JJ: Whatever.
SO: Otherwise, why did you follow me here without even knowing what I’d do?
Because she was naïve. She believed that no harm would befall her.
She did the same thing in Ep 2 after her boyfriend Ilsik beat up SunOh and HyeYung. She entered Ilsik’s practice room at night, without anybody around, AND without fear that he’d attack her (i.e., hit her, rape her) in retaliation for two-timing him. I thought she was an idiot here and then for letting herself be alone with a guy in what could potentially be a dangerous situation.
But this is also why I consider SunOh a douchebag-in-the-making. He presumed that he was irresistible and that girls like Jojo *secretly* found him a “turn on” even when they were protesting no. He had an inflated view of his sex appeal.
JJ: That’s because you said you had something to say… (stopping when she saw his face so near hers)
SO: Can I kiss you?
JJ: You weren’t even listening. That’s all you were thinking about, right?
SO: Right. I wasn’t listening. That was all I was thinking about. (she looked away) You have beautiful lips.
JJ: (moving away) I have a boyfriend.
SO: (touching her hair) I know. (touching her cheek)
JJ: He’s also a good fighter. (swatting his hand away) If Il-sik finds out about this, he’ll beat you to a pulp.
SO: Then, I’ll get beaten then.
He held her face then kiss her once. Twice. Ugh.
I’ve to remind myself that she was only 18 years old and easily seduced by sweet words and slick moves. If that had been me, and an acquaintance said something like, “You’ve kissable lips,” I would’ve walked away before I said something bitchy like, “Oooh! Look, you have bullshit on your lips. Please wipe it off.”
Anyway, I’d consider calling attention to the “beauty” of my body parts, i.e., lips, breast, cleavage, waist, hips, anything covered by a bikini, thighs, legs, ankles, etc., inappropriate conversation between non-intimate couples.
Voiceover: If I had the Love Alarm would it have gone off? No. Both of ours would have stayed silent. Because the urge to kiss came before love for both of us. Like the flash of lighting before it thunders.
And welcome to Netflix, kdrama viewers!
You’re no longer in a world that views a kiss as the highlight of the romance, and the culmination of 8 to 10 episodes of relationship-building. Once you’re in Netflix, you’ve entered the Holly-weird zone where a kiss is simply the precursor to seduction, sexual arousal, and, if you’re lucky, love. The kiss in this Episode 1 signaled the START of an affair that may or may not turn into a real love.
Do you see how the usual kdrama narrative is upended? In kdramas, the relationship comes first before the kiss. In Hollywood productions, the kiss comes first before the relationship. It’s a sad affair of things.
That’s why I view this kissing scene between Jojo and SunOh with cynical eyes. To me, it was just about two hormonal teenagers experimenting with kissing and the angst would necessarily follow because the kiss lacked context.
Moreover, this is where the Lao Tzu’s quotation can explain the situation between Jojo and SunOh. “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.” SunOh and Jojo instantly gratified their physical desire and gave in to their lustful feelings. The flame was bright as the two were moved by the heat of the moment. Jojo admitted that it wasn’t even love.
The mistake of kdrama viewers is to view a Netflix Original with the same rose-tinted glasses as kdramas made by KBS, MBC and SBS.
Now, whether the two lip-locked teenagers would have enough spark and resolve to sustain their passion over time is highly doubtful. For one, SunOh struck me as an impatient guy. Remember when he couldn’t wait to get in the car and stripped off his shirt to change into the sweatshirt in public? And remember when he kept texting HyeYung when he didn’t reply? Or remember how he wanted the Love Alarm to determine who “won” Jojo right away?
For another, Jojo wouldn’t fit his world.
To me, SunOh didn’t possess the necessary mindset and attitude to work long-term for a distant goal. And Jojo needed stability and dependability that SunOh couldn’t give.
So, that’s one reason I don’t think he’s the OTP.
The second is the moral lesson from the Aesop’s fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” It goes, “Slow but steady wins the race.”
To me, the bike is an important symbolism in Episodes 1 and 2. HyeYung had a bike with a chain that occasionally broke apart. On the other hand, SunOh got driven by car to school every day. Although he offered HyeYung a ride, HyeYung preferred to cycle to school. It made him sweaty by the time he got to school, but he dealt with it.
Now the unspoken reason he rode the bike was so he could follow Jojo anywhere after school — be it to the bus stop, to their part-time jobs at the barbecue restaurant or to her other part-time work at her Aunt’s store.
His bike represented his devotion to her.
He followed her from afar because he didn’t to burden her with his presence. He was happy when she called for him help at the restaurant to get a grill ready. But he was happy just the same to watch her from the sidelines. He waited for her to get on the bus after their late night shift and watched her fold a paper frog. After she got on the bus, he took the paper frog home as a keepsake.
Unlike SunOh, he was willing to give her space. Remember this conversation, from Episode 1:
HY: She has a boyfriend.
SO: What’s that got to do with you liking her?
HY: You know what. They obviously like each other.
SO: Not all couples like each other.
HyeYung was saying that he respected her boyfriend relationship. He was being considerate of her feelings by not dumping his love confession on her. Nor was he going to meddle with her affair and stir up trouble for her.
Later, in the episode, the driver advised him to go after the girl.
Driver: Hey, when you stormed out of the car yesterday, I totally thought you were going to do something. But what was that?
HY: You want to see me and SunOh fight, don’t you?
Driver: Cut it out. If you like that girl, just go for it. Why do you keep just watching her from afar?
HY: I told you. You got the wrong idea.
Of course, he liked her. After she’d downloaded the Love Alarm app, he was the first one to ring her Love Alarm. She’d been ordered by the restaurant manager to stay till the closing shift, but Hyeyung stepped in to cover for her. She didn’t realize it was him though.
To me, Hyesung knew that if a guy truly likes the girl, then he should NOT just go for it — as the Driver advised. Love is being considerate of the emotions and well-being of the loved one.
Driver: What are you going to do if SunOh falls for her?
HY: What do you mean?
Driver: Who knows? To tell you the truth, my biggest worry is that you two would fall for the same girl. I mean which one of you will give her up?
SO: (interrupting) Hyung, what are you talking about? Is a girl an object that you can give up? (HY stares at him) The lucky girl will have to choose between the two of us.
Here, SunOh advocated forcing the girl to decide. This wouldn’t be Hyesung’s choice of action but that conversation with the driver and SunOh must have changed his mind because that afternoon after school, he decided to look for Jojo.
He biked all the way to Jojo’s second part-time job at her Aunt’s convenience store. And he waited for her to arrive. He sat out there drinking Coke and remembering that she drank Coke, too. When she didn’t show up for her part-time job, he went home when his mom called him looking for SunOh.
I think he saw the two of them, SunOh and Jojo, at the bus stop. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the bicyclist who passed them. But he didn’t say a word to SunOh that night when they met up. Instead, SunOh was the one who kissed-and-told on Jojo.
SO: You like Jojo, don’t you?
HY: (sighing) You’re crazy. Are you at it again?
SO: Yes. I’ll ask until you answer me.
HY: I told you I don’t like her.
SO: Are you sure?
HY: Why do you keep asking? You won’t believe me anyway.
I understand the frustration of viewers here. Why did HyeYung keep denying?
To me, it’s because he knew and understood SunOh’s character. He anticipated SunOh to stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Remember what SunOh said about Jojo’s boyfriend. “What’s that got to do with you liking her?”
SO: (standing up to face him) I kissed Jojo.
HyeYung looked stunned. Then wordlessly, he stood up to leave.
HY: Get changed. You’ll catch a cold.
To me, this scene told me that Hyeyung wouldn’t fight for Jojo after he’d seen that Jojo already made her choice. But this scene also made me suspect SunOh’s character. He’s a jerk.
He could darn well put two and two together so why was he obsessed to hear HyeYung confirm his affections for Jojo? What did it matter to him anyway?
lol. I sometimes wonder whether SunOh felt something more toward HyeYung than the typical male friendship. Was he jealous of HyeYung so he was sabotaging Jojo?
HyeYung’s reticence to confess his emotions for Jojo frustrated SunOh no end. SunOh hounded him like it was his absolute right to know HyeYung’s private and intimate feelings. The following day he chased HyeYung on the way to school.
SO: Aren’t you going to answer me?
HY: What a persistent jerk. Will you keep doing this?
SO: Tell me. Do you really not like Jojo?
HY gave him a look and pedaled away. Then he jerked to a stop making SunOh’s car brake suddenly, too, right beside him.
HY: (calmly) What about you? Why did you kiss her? I’ll answer you question, if you answer mine.
Silence from SunOh. And HyeYung biked away. To me, he proved his point. How dare SunOh ask for his personal feeling when he wouldn’t confide his true feelings either.
SunOh reached school first, and HyeYung observed him going up the steps. Later, Jojo’s boyfriend came looking for SunOh to beat him up for kissing his girl. HyeYung came running to help SunOhn. After they were both trashed by IlSik, HY and SO discussed Jojo again.
HY: Why did you let him hit you? I said I’d fight instead.
SO: I’m the one who kissed Jojo. (seeing HY fidget beside him) See? You like Jojo.
HY: No, I don’t.
SO: Stop lying. If you keep lying, I can’t help but think that all the things you’ve done for me were not from your heart. So tell me. Do you like Jojo or not?
HY: No matter how many times you ask, my answer will remain the same. I don’t like Jojo…because you do.
He changed his tune her. Previously, he just said that he didn’t like Jojo. Now, he added a qualifier. He didn’t like Jojo because his best friend liked her. He was ceding her to SunOh.
SO: Hey. If one kiss means I like her, all the girls I’ve met —
HY: But this time, you’re acting differently. You make it very obvious too. This will go on forever if both of us keep denying it.
SO: You’re right. Let’s not ask each other since we’ll keep lying anyway. Instead you should download Love Alarm too.
Somewhere outside the school, Jojo downloaded the Love Alarm app at the same time as HyeYung.
SO: Let’s trust Love Alarm. The choice is up to Jojo.
And this is my third reason for saying it’s HyeSung is the Love Alarm app.
I’m guessing that the Love Alarm app was made by DukGu, the guy who was in love with Jojo’s cousin, GulMi. He couldn’t confess to GulMi because he was way out her league so he created an app to express his feelings. However, no matter what he did to win her, she simply was repulsed by him.
DG: (texting) Gulmi, I’m so happy that I finally get to tell you how I feel. There’s something I’d like to give to you today.
GM: (reading the text) He must be out of his mind.
DG: Meet me after school at Miso Park. I’ll wait until you come.
GM: What the hell is wrong with him? I hate this.
Gulmi waited in the restroom until the Love Alarm app said DukGu had left the parameter. She decided to use the app against DukGu, that is, detect his whereabouts so she could avoid him.
To me, that’s THE crucial defect of the Love Alarm app. It’s an imposition. It poses a burden on both the parties alerted by the app. The person in love temporarily gratifies himself with a confession (like DukGu’s declaration to Gulmi) of his feelings. But he’s also imposing his attention onto a person who may or may not be ready to return the feelings. The receiver of the love confession then becomes burdened by the unwanted attention (like Gulmi was).
Additionally, the person in love may expect his love to be reciprocated and to receive a
“tag-back” with his app confession. But when he realizes that his love is unrequited, he may feel helpless and depressed, like DukGu.
DG: I want to stop liking her, but…
JJ: (patting his back) You’re right. I think it’s so unfair that we can’t do anything about what our hearts want.
In this sense, I think HyeYung had the better approach to a love declaration than the Love Alarm app. You see, without the app, he could actually stay within 10m radius of Jojo, without alarming her.
He worked with her in close proximity at the barbecue restaurant.
He could observe her cool herself under the fan.
He waited for outside the restaurant after their shift.
He walked with her to the bus stop.
He waited for the bus with her.
And he watched her make a paper frog. lol. He was only a frog’s leap away from her but she didn’t notice him.
Not once did she feel awkward with him because the Love Alarm was NOT triggered and their romance wasn’t preempted. To me, love was allowed to follow the normal course of events because HyeYung patiently waited his time till both of he and Jojo were ready for his confession. And that’s how it should be.
So there you go, @lovebangwon. My first and last impressions of Love Alert. 🙂 Hope this helps — and doesn’t break your heart. 🙂
i wont watch second season for sure. 💔💔💔💔💔 lol the webtoon also end up with HY and JoJo as couple. The author also work here as script writer, with 2 other writer lol (my last hope, but i guess i should stop lol)
I really doubt it since relationship between jojo and sunoh was really good, i mean yes he is bit “jerk” at first, but after they start dating he is really treat her good,
He always there when she need him, he always there to protect her, she always understood what sun oh did for her.
both still going strong until it very end. They stop and break up. Jojo keep saying it was her mistake by wanted to broke up with him, stay in silent love. I mean she still love him, she keep denying when sun oh asking her. Bcs she has bad experience to be more open to other ppl, when her parent suicide at jeju island
(Btw, i think this is the reason so many ppl love jojo and sun oh relationship, even they dont watch webtoon. They ask for different ending (me included) lol
And i know she start to accept hy heart after they grow up as adult. (in last episode) but she told him that she cant ring her alarm bcs she still has feeling for sunoh.
But HY still okay with it, bcs he always wait for..
Ps, i almost hack your blog waiting for your respond, but i dont have power right now bcs your post just broke my heart into the pieces 💔
I will try another drama then, kim min jae drama and the cuties jang dong yoon (he is working with so hyun too, the actress from love alarm)
But my watch list still, VAGABOND (IM SUZY FAN LOL), ARTHDAL CHRONICLES 3, WHEN THE CAMELLIA BLOOMS (I love quirky fashion from gong hyo jin, but i love her too 😂❤️)
Hugs, my friend.
But you said there was a second season? Maybe the original screenwriter (the webtoon writer) will change the ending then, based on the viewers’ popular demand for a Jojo-Sunoh OTP.
Webtoon writing is different from regular writing. Regular writers have a *more* straightforward ending. The end has to match the beginning. But with webtoon, the ending can be “influenced” by viewers’ demand. The webtoon writers are driven by readership. They have to create and sustain readers’ interest every week for the plot of their serial cartoon. So who knows? Is the webtoon already finished or is it still serialized.
Hmmm… but you know, it’s actually a bad thing for Jojo-Sunoh if the writer spent a lot of time in Season 1 developing their love story bec in Season 2, the writer will pivot and focus on the other guy for contrast. It’s like the pendulum swings back. Ugh!
That’s why I really don’t like Webtoon-based dramas. Their writers are major trolls.
I still remember Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter. Now, THAT’s a dumb premise, too. It was the Fairy’s own idiocy and pursuit of the WRONG guy that created the love triangle. The WRONG guy didn’t want anything to do with her, at first. But she chased him insisting he was her long-awaited husband. As it turned out, the stupid fairy got the guys mixed up, and the right guy was the one she ignored! 🤦♀️ The plot had zero sense.
It’s a good thing I didn’t watch that drama. I just read the recaps towards the end to stay informed.
Anyway, drop this show for now and move on. If Season 2 comes, then it comes. Don’t wait for it. Maybe the webtoon writer will change her mind, and only give the other guy, HY, only a few episode in Season 2 to shine. Then she’ll swing back to SunOh in the last episodes. This webtoon isn’t like the Titanic where the Captain already hit the iceberg and it was too late to make a u-turn. The writer still has this hiatus and 8 episodes to make a u-turn — no a complete circle ⭕️ and go back to SunOh.
I’m sorry for sending you bad news. 🥴
Yes. I’ll be watching Vagabond. Suzy is pleasing to the eyes.
I wasn’t a big fan of this drama. I didn’t read the webtoon neither. But if I have to choose between the both, I would choose HY too. He is a nice character and he deserves happiness!
ughh, i cant trust the author webtoon if they have big part on writing script. lol
but i also doubt if the new script writer will do good things for webtoon to dramas. since i have bad experience with orange marmalade drama. suck writing, where they change story from modern vampire drama, to joseon vampire story in the middle story.. -.-
the webtoon last part was 0n march 2018, i think it was final season. too bad i still dont find someone who alr read webcomic love alarm, it would be helpful if someone sharing the plot on webcomic, so we can compare it to the drama.
i understand how frustating mama fairy story, because too much focus on male lead back story than second one, but i alr prepare my self for that, because i read webtoon first. kekekekee..
im not gonna complaining things if the writer NOT giving so much attention to jojo sun oh relationship. because until it very end, she still love sun oh. this is gonna be the biggest mistake for writer to make this move. because their relationship just like main lead couple in every other drama.
this why sun oh jojo couple really popular after it was released. i see it every where, even on netflix youtube, so many ppl asking for jojo sun oh couple..
it would be different if this is like reply 1988.. where two guy has equal chance. since our deokseon not showing much who is the one inside her heart.
talking about r88, i miss them lol
beware while watching vagabond,im really sensitive person when it comes to bae suzy lol
btw, thank you for giving time to watch and posting review about love alarm drama :p
Accdg to @Lovebangwon, SunOh changed personality and became sweeter in the next episodes. 😂 You might change your mind bec I’m sure the webtoon writer made him swoon-worthy then and HY boring.
Really now, I don’t know the ending of this kdrama. It might very well be different from the webtoon. But I’m basing my “prediction” on the first two episodes.
You see, the Love Alert app is flawed. We can already see how it affected the creator of the app and his “target”. (Lol. The app’s 10 meter radius looks like a shooting target 🎯 right?)
The app had a deleterious effect on them and, I’m pretty sure, on the other users as well. IMO, the message of this kdrama will be that love is real when it flows in its natural and ORGANIC course, without these spurious techie aides.
So based on that hypothesis, I looked for the character who refused to use the app. Between the two guys, HY was the one who was “forced” into using it. SO made the app part of their “competition” to win JJ. HY was trying to avoid this winner-take-all competition for her.
HY had been allowing his relationship with JJ to develop naturally, organically, until SO arrived and turned everything upside down. Pretty much like the Love Alarm disrupted people’s natural dating habits. 😂
In a way, SO is the personification of the Love Alarm.
Do you get me now? I don’t look at the lovey-dovey acts of the two male leads per se. Instead, I’m trying to search for the IDEAS or the worldview that the webtoon writer would be imparting through her story about an app that alerts people they have a lover. Is this good or bad in the long run? What are the effects and repercussions of over-reliance on a gadget instead of common sense? Is the app really beneficial? Or is it a Pandora’s box, just releasing more evil in society?
🙂
it must be for fan service, because he was really swoon worthy lol
and HY just act like second lead would do in kdramas. the man who is hiding behind the wall.
this writer really cruel for making many fangirls got heart broken in the end, especially international viewers who didnt read her webcomic lol yet she sold her creation to netflix. 🙁
i think you are right, because in the last ep, it was reveal the negative side of love alarm too, from criminal, killers, anti love alarm but it was balance with a positive side of love alarm :p
im not really interest to watch second season after reading ending from the webtoon. and after you said i should search another good drama haha..
Let’s wait for Vagabond with your Suzy. I promise you I won’t pan her acting. 😂😂 I think she’s getting better. And she’s waaaaay more “simpatica” than Chae Soo Bin, the actress in Where Stars Land.
I see that Song Sung Heon (My Princess) has a new drama out, The Great Show. Too bad it’s about a politician’s campaign.
We’re doing a Pride and Prejudice (1995) love fest here after Hotel del Luna. 😂 I think the best way to get over a kdrama is rewatching a “healing” show like P&P.
Huh? The Love Alarm app produced haters? Hmmm… 🤔 I think I can see how. If this story were Romeo and Juliet, the guy from the wrong “clan,” country, race, religion, or economic status, falling for a privileged girl would be hated on by the girl’s family and friends. It would be safer for him if his Love Alarm app was turned off.
And what if it’s a guy crushing on another guy? Or a girl feeling attraction for another girl? The Love Alarm app would really be burdensome. I’d delete the app for privacy issues.
I’ve watched the 8 episodes available after @lovebangwon’s request for @packmule3 to review this and say her opinion on who will be end game.
I watched it because I was curious I guess.
Skipped through a lot but ( and here there will be plenty of spoilers) this drama is turning into a creepy thing similar to an episode of Black Mirror.
In episode 8 version 2.0 of the Love Alarm app is revealed aaaand the app won’t only ring when someone who loves you is in a 10m radius but also predict if the person is going to end up loving you or not.
I’m not very sure about the details but how I understood it the app won’t be just binary: one loves you => it rings (rings for every person who loves you and is inside that 10m radius); no one loves you => it doesn’t ring.
Version 2.0 will probably tell you some number or something of the sort, a value that indicates how much the person loves you (or how much the person doesn’t love you) so you can estimate if the affection is growing or not.
And if love alarm was creepy already this is the stuff of nightmares.
And because of this the drama season 2 could actually be quite interesting.
Because the love story I found a bit boring. Because I was rooting for no one.
I was bored with both the leads. One is selfish (for all the reasons you detailed in this post) the other’s.. just.. boring. Kind, does all the right things but still boring.
The first is a jerk. I do get why people love him, he’s handsome and sincere in his feelings, he falls in love with JoJo and is a decent boyfriend.
They only break up because DukGu, who developed the app, gifts JoJo a shield for the app so her app won’t ring no one’s alarm.
She lies to SunOh that she doesn’t love him anymore after they have an accident on a motorcycle. She already thinks she’s bad for others because of the way her parents died when she was a child so she decides to leave SunOh for his own good (LOL) and lies to him that she doesn’t love him. And shows him that if only she is near him his app says no one in a 10m radius loves him (because her app has a shield installed).
And they break up and 5 years pass.
And he’s in another relationship but is still in love with JoJo and suffering after their break up.
HyeYung who uninstalled the app because he didn’t want to make things more complicated for Jojo and SunOh after Jojo’s alarm rang near him (she found out he loves her too), finally decides, after these 5 years, to pursue her.
Unlike selfish SunOh who’s like KISS ME! and pursues the girl he sees his best friend likes, HyeYung tells her he’s just happy showing her that he loves her (ringing her love alarm)
She tells him that after SunOh she decided to like no one (does not tell him that she still loves SunOh, it’s just the stupid shield that will not show others what she’s feeling)
HyeYung asks if he can install the app again so he can ring her alarm. She agrees, there’s a cute scene when he circles on a bike around her going in and out of the 10m circle to ring her alarm for all the time he lost by staying away from her. I liked this scene.
And then the version 2.0 is released, they are all at the release event. There a scene similar to the trope of the lead and second lead both grabbing the female’s hand only no one is touching no one. JoJo gets in 10m radius of SunOh, his alarm rings (his girlfriend is there too so that can’t be nice), then KyeYung arrives too (he fears for JoJo safety because there are people protesting against Love Alarm outside the event hall) and her alarm rings again.
And there I think is where the 8 episodes stop.
Anyway, these are the things that I thought were worth mentioning. Whenvwatching I wasn’t sure who lovebangwon was rooting for. I felt the first 8 episodes are all about JoJo loving SunOh although the drama does start showing us his jerk side (the kiss crap, going after the girl his almost brother liked.. bleah).
But then SunOh’s pretty sweet and JoJo loves him and lives loving him in secret and suffering even after the stupid decision of leaving him for his own good (rolling eyes).
So I was afraid the message in the end, if this dude is end game would be, it’s ok girls to be a jerk to your best friend and pursue the girl he likes after finding out that he does because she’s pretty and ends up loving you and your feelings grow to love her sincerly too so it’s fine.
Anyhow, there’s great potential for the drama with the love alarm version 2.0 stuff.
I hope KyeYung is smart enough to uninstall that crap again.
JoJo still has the shield so she should be safe
SunOh does not seem to be that smart. I mean.. he still has the app installed even if he’s hurting his girlfriend who’s alarm never rings near him.
Im agree with this part (by the author) in the comment section.
The app had a deleterious effect on them and, I’m pretty sure, on the other users as well. IMO, the message of this kdrama will be that love is real when it flows in its natural and ORGANIC course, without these spurious techie aides.
So based on that hypothesis, I looked for the character who refused to use the app. Between the two guys, HY was the one who was “forced” into using it. SO made the app part of their “competition” to win JJ. HY was trying to avoid this winner-take-all competition for her.
HY had been allowing his relationship with JJ to develop naturally, organically, until SO arrived and turned everything upside down. Pretty much like the Love Alarm disrupted people’s natural dating habits. 😂
In a way, SO is the personification of the Love Alarm.
I want to said thank you on your review of Love Alarm. Ive a great time reading it. It give me new light at different perspectives tho Im team Hye young since the beginning. He remind me of Sunwoo in R88 a lot.
You’re welcome. Glad you delurked.
lol. i guess you know me very well when i only said im very sensitive about suzy hahahaaaaa. seriously, you must be shaman in your previous life :p
yeah,sure it was all about her perfomance. at first i just enjoy watching her dramas because the story is good. im not really fan of her in the beginning, but after uncontrollably fond drama, the hate doesnt stop.every small mistake,haters will leave bad comment like she is the worst idol actors. like seriously? if she is that bad, no one will hire her as lead actress, the drama wont do well in term of rating and popularity. ugh.. i think ppl will learn and improve themself to give better performance.
im not a fan of her beauty, i fall for her real life personality..
we probably have different age gap or we live in different country. i dont know pride and prejudice movie -.-, because in my teen day i watch lizzy mcguire, lindsay lohan movie, olsen twins drama, bring it on series, a walk to remember movie, love actually movie, the notebook, big fish, titanic lol
i started to watch very old movie because of you, like gone with the wind, nothing hills & forrest gump. it was really good movies :p
now you mentions this, yeah HY really has 2 male friend who had crush on him lol both male fight for him. because one person got jealous, knowing other male liking hy by ringing hy love alarm. damn it.
this is serious issue :p
btw, i just read someone replied to my comment from youtube the swoon(netflix youtube for promoting korean drama)
she said “i checked and the author had to give an abrupt ending (that had tons of loose ends) to the webtoon as they would be going on hiatus due to health reasons”
i guess this is chance for a good ending for love alarm, they will absolutely change their mistake in the drama lol
You have my back, @oli!! Thanks for filling me in on the rest of the Season 1. (There’s going to be a Season 2, right? From what I gather from @lovebangwon, it’s a done deal.)
I agree with you when you wrote:
That is disconcerting. I don’t think it’s caught on yet with many romance writers that they must rethink this whole benign/romantic vs jerk/creepy girl-chasing. It’ll take some time and more discussion about male/female dynamics and nonconsensual vs consensual behaviors. Also, since we’ve always operated on the idea that “love conquers all,” the persistent and assertive male (lol. it’s not often we have a heroine chasing the guy) is regarded as the “winner” while the retiring, slow guy is viewed as a loser.
But we’ll see. I avoid webtoon writers in general because I’m a snobby bitch. hahaha. Many of them are young. That indicates to me that their philosophy in life isn’t settled yet. Their worldview is still in flux and it’ll show in their writings. Also, many of the webtoon writers are in it for the money. Hey! It’s a fact of life that writers, like bus drivers and politicians, cannot starve. For views/clicks/hits on their serialized webtoon, they will manufacture “weird” plot twists to keep their viewers coming back. They work with a deadline and the imperative that their weekly cartoons hit the top, I dunno 10%? 15%? 20% most viewed series of the week.
I forgot to add that I agree with your assessment of HyeYoung’s character being similar to Sunwoo. He too just stayed in the sidelines for Bora. lol. The girl’s name was Bora, wasn’t it? It caused confusion and grief for Deoksun because SHE thought Sunwoo was in love with her, not her mean older sister. Then, when Bora broke up with Sunwoo he was disappointed but he left her alone.
Sigh. I really did like Reply 1988. That was fun to watch.